Panama is famous for beaches, jungles, coffee, seafood and tropical fruit, but some of the country's most interesting food experiences aren't necessarily the spectacular ones. They are the dishes that arrive in an ordinary bowl, steaming hot, smelling of garlic, herbs, vegetables, meat and broth.
Soup is serious business in Panama.
And then there is guacho, one of those wonderfully difficult to categorize Panamanian dishes that sits somewhere between soup, stew and rice dish. It is hearty, comforting and deeply connected to the country's rural cooking traditions. If you want to understand a little more about Panama through its food, a bowl of soup or guacho is a surprisingly good place to begin.
Why soup makes sense in a tropical country
At first glance, soup might seem like an odd obsession in a country where temperatures can be well above 30°C.
But Panamanians aren't necessarily eating soup because they're cold.
They're eating it because it tastes good.
Soups are particularly useful in a cuisine where fresh ingredients are abundant. Vegetables, herbs, roots, meat, chicken, seafood and local starches can all find their way into a pot. A good soup can turn relatively inexpensive ingredients into something substantial enough to feed a family.
And there is something wonderfully practical about a big pot of soup.
You don't need complicated equipment.
You don't need an enormous kitchen.
You don't need a dozen separate dishes.
You put ingredients into a pot, let time do much of the work and eventually end up with something that can feed everybody.
This is one reason soup appears in so many traditional cuisines around the world.
Panama is no exception.
Sancocho: Panama's legendary soup
If there is one Panamanian soup that travelers should know, it is sancocho.
Panamanian sancocho is traditionally associated with chicken, herbs and vegetables, with culantro playing a particularly important role in its characteristic flavor. Depending on the cook and region, ingredients can include ñame and other starchy vegetables.
It is not a delicate soup.
It is the kind of food that feels like it was designed to restore a person.
Someone comes home exhausted.
Someone has been working outside all day.
Someone isn't feeling well.
A family gets together.
Rain starts falling.
Out comes the pot.
And suddenly there is sancocho.
That association with comfort is one reason sancocho has become such an important part of Panamanian food culture.
The mysterious power of culantro
One of the ingredients that makes Panamanian soup taste distinctly different from many soups visitors may know is culantro.
Despite the similar name, culantro isn't simply the same plant as the familiar cilantro. It has long, serrated leaves and a strong, distinctive aroma and flavor.
It is widely used in Central American and Caribbean cooking, and in Panama it is especially important in traditional dishes.
Put enough culantro into a pot of chicken soup and suddenly the soup tastes unmistakably Panamanian.
It's one of those ingredients that can make a traveler realize something important about food:
The identity of a dish can sometimes come from one humble plant.
And then comes guacho
Guacho is where things become particularly interesting.
Depending on the recipe and region, guacho can vary considerably, but the basic concept involves rice cooked together with other ingredients until the dish becomes moist, rich and almost risotto like in consistency.
It is commonly made with ingredients such as chicken, pork, seafood or other meats, combined with vegetables, herbs and seasoning.
Some versions are particularly soupy.
Others are thicker.
Some look more like a rice stew.
The word itself is therefore not necessarily enough to tell you exactly what will arrive at the table.
And that's part of the fun.
Guacho de mariscos
One particularly delicious version is guacho de mariscos, where seafood becomes the star.
Panama has two coastlines, so it would be strange if seafood didn't find its way into traditional rice dishes.
Depending on the preparation, you might encounter shrimp, fish, squid, shellfish or a combination of seafood cooked with rice and a flavorful broth.
The result is somewhere between seafood soup and a hearty rice dish.
It can be incredibly satisfying after a day near the coast.
And because the rice absorbs the cooking liquid, the seafood flavor doesn't simply sit on top of the dish.
It becomes part of the rice itself.
Guacho de pollo
Chicken guacho is another classic approach.
Chicken provides the protein while rice absorbs the broth, herbs and seasoning. Vegetables and aromatics contribute additional flavor, creating something that can be both simple and remarkably rich.
This is traditional cooking at its most practical.
A single pot.
Affordable ingredients.
Enough food for several people.
And no unnecessary fuss.
That simplicity is deceptive, because the best versions depend on getting the balance right.
Too dry and it becomes ordinary rice.
Too watery and it turns into soup.
Cooked properly, it occupies that delicious territory in between.
The secret is texture
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about guacho is the texture.
The rice isn't simply cooked separately and served beside the meat or seafood.
It is cooked inside the flavorful liquid.
As the rice absorbs the broth, starch is released and the entire dish thickens.
That's why guacho can feel creamy without necessarily containing cream.
It is essentially the starch from the rice doing the work.
This is one of those simple cooking techniques that humans have independently discovered in many parts of the world.
Rice plus flavorful liquid plus time equals something wonderful.
Panama simply has its own version.
Guacho isn't trying to be fancy
Modern restaurants sometimes take traditional dishes and turn them into elaborate culinary presentations.
Guacho doesn't really need that treatment.
Its appeal is precisely that it feels like real food.
The kind of thing somebody's grandmother might make.
The kind of dish that appears in a large pot at a family gathering.
The kind of meal that makes sense after working outside, fishing, farming or spending a long day traveling.
And that's important when understanding Panamanian cuisine.
Some of the most meaningful food isn't necessarily the food that looks impressive in a photograph.
It's the food that people actually grew up eating.
Panama's soups go far beyond sancocho
Once you start exploring Panamanian cooking, you'll discover that sancocho is only the beginning.
There are soups based around seafood, beef, vegetables, beans and other combinations of local ingredients.
Chupe is another interesting example, particularly associated with seafood and ingredients such as shrimp, vegetables and milk or other rich components depending on the recipe.
Carimañolas aren't soup, but they illustrate another important characteristic of Panamanian cooking: the use of root vegetables and starches to create filling food from relatively simple ingredients.
Then there are soups and stews that vary from household to household.
Ask two Panamanians for the "correct" recipe and you may accidentally start a debate.
That's usually a good sign.
The geography shows up in the bowl
Panama's geography has a huge influence on its cooking.
Along the Caribbean coast, coconut, seafood and tropical ingredients become increasingly prominent.
In the interior, agricultural products, roots, rice, corn and meats become important.
In coastal communities, seafood can dominate.
In rural areas, soups and stews can become substantial meals capable of feeding an entire family.
And in Panama City, all of these traditions collide.
Panamanian food is therefore not one perfectly standardized cuisine.
It is a meeting point between Indigenous traditions, Afro Caribbean cooking, Spanish influences, international migration and ingredients introduced from other parts of the world.
A bowl of soup can contain centuries of history without looking remotely historical.
The rainy season connection
There is something particularly satisfying about eating soup during Panama's rainy season.
The sky goes dark.
Rain starts hammering the roof.
The temperature drops slightly.
And suddenly a steaming bowl of soup makes perfect sense.
This is especially true in the mountains.
Up in the highlands around Chiriquí, evenings can be considerably cooler than on the coast. After spending a day hiking through cloud forest, a hot bowl of sancocho or a hearty guacho can feel almost luxurious.
Not because it's expensive.
Because you've earned it.
Food that brings people together
Perhaps the most important thing about these dishes is that they are rarely designed for one person.
A large pot of soup or guacho naturally lends itself to sharing.
Someone cooks.
Someone chops.
Someone sets the table.
People talk while the food simmers.
Eventually everyone eats.
That makes these dishes more than recipes.
They are social food.
And that is an important part of understanding Panama.
Food here is often connected to conversation, family, friends and hospitality. Meals can stretch longer than expected. Somebody inevitably offers you another helping. A simple lunch can turn into an afternoon.
The food is only part of the experience.
The backpacker's discovery
For travelers, soup and guacho are also an excellent way to escape the predictable version of tropical cuisine.
It's easy to travel through Panama eating sandwiches, burgers, pizza and international food.
There's nothing wrong with that.
But eventually you should find a local place and ask:
"What is the soup today?"
Don't worry if the answer isn't something you've heard of.
That's the point.
You might get chicken soup filled with herbs and roots.
You might get seafood.
You might get something thick and rice based.
You might discover a dish that looks completely different from what you imagined.
And if someone tells you their grandmother makes it better, believe them.
They probably aren't joking.
A bowl of Panama
Panamanian soup and guacho aren't trying to compete with fine dining.
They're doing something more fundamental.
They're taking what is available, combining it with local knowledge and turning it into something warm, filling and intensely comforting.
Sancocho tells the story through broth. Guacho tells it through rice.
Both reflect the country's tropical ingredients, agricultural traditions, coastal influence and obsession with food that can be shared.
And perhaps that's why these dishes are worth seeking out.
You don't need a five star restaurant to taste Panama.
Sometimes all you need is a steaming bowl, a wooden table, a few people around you and somebody in the kitchen who knows exactly what they're doing.
That is where Panama gets deliciously real.